Fairy Tail Artifact Finders: The Shrine of Deliora
by Gruvia rocks
Summary: AU - When the location of a mysterious shrine's map is found the race to find the actual shrine begins. Who will find it first? Will the curse activate or is it a fluke? Who's good and who's bad? Does anyone have ulterior motives? Trust will have to be earned and that is hard to earn. Couples: NaLu, GrUvia, JeRza and GaLe. Co-authored by Gruvia rocks and Captain Baka - sama.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Collaboration between me and my brother Captain Baka – sama and based on all adventure movies such as The Mummy. Okay this story will have romance because I like romance which means NALU, GALE, JERZA AND GRUVIA my lovelies. But it won't be the central theme (*sobs*)...I think this story is a must read! **

**Takes place in AU of our normal universe during the early 1900's. **

**Enjoy and don't forget to review, follow and favourite.**

**Disclaimer: If we owned Fairy Tail you guys would be running for your life when you saw our art. So thus all rights go to Hiro Mashima-san. **

**Prologue**

Ancient legend tells of the great power Deliora. A demon, hailed as a god by the ancient Mayan priests. It was said that the demon had the power to destroy everything in existence, but in doing so, also giving rebirth, for birth, as they say, is as death, only begotten through great pain.

**22 June 1932**

_**Unknown Location - Peru**_

The walls echoed the sound of rubber soles slamming against the ground as a light passed hallways depicting images of a furious beast smashing native villages to shreds with flames following its path and burning forests to the ground. These went unnoticed as the woman with long raven hair passed them her torch the sole source of light in the empty dark hallways as she ran. Her breath became heavy with each passing second, but she kept her pace as a determined expression preserved over her features.

Behind her a rumbling was heard as she manoeuvred her way past small items stacking the stone floor. She had no time to think as she ran tucking a piece of paper deeper into her brown jacket's pocket as she took a quick corner. As soon as she was a few feet away from the turn she laid against the wall when a giant boulder passed by from the hallway she had just been running in.

Her breath was heavy as she closed her eyes taking the precious seconds to think. What she had just done could be deemed as insane but she felt that it had all been worth it. She should probably have let some of her fellow colleagues come with her but she had to do this herself. This was the thing her mother had been searching for after all and every second she came closer to her late mother's final goal.

Quickly taking the paper out of her jacket she opened it to reveal the old drawings decorating it and pointing to the building which contained the artifact. But as she looked at the paper she realised that even if she had it she could not find the route depicted. There was no way of knowing which direction was which and she would probably need help with finding the place on a modern map.

"Damn it..." she swore under her breath putting the paper back into her jacket's pocket and standing up again. Using her lantern she lighted the space around her and looked around to see if she recognized anything, but it seemed that she did not. She had mostly likely entered a hallway which led to a dead end.

"Ultear..." a voice whispered and she whipped her head to the hallway on the other side of the one with the boulder where she saw a light approach her. Who could be calling her now? Was she not alone anymore? She had not told anyone where she was going yet she recognized the voice as one of her colleagues... had he followed her to the place and if he did; why?

"I'm here." she said walking to the other hallway and shinning her light in it to see if it indeed was her colleague. Soon the light neared her own light and she saw the man she knew as her colleague. His blue hair was as messy as ever and the red tattoo covering his right eye could be recognized anywhere.

"Ultear; thank goodness." the man sighed looking at her. "Me and Meredy were worried. Why did you even leave on your own, you know we could've helped you?"

"Jellal" she spat glaring at him. "I am perfectly safe on my own; you need not endanger your own life to come after me. I'm not weak."

"And I never said you were." the man said pointing down the hallway and indicating that she should go in front of him. "We're both esteemed archaeologists and we have both been in situations like this before, but luck is not a thing to play with. It is better to travel in a group for if anything is to go wrong."

"But nothing..." Ultear began as she and Jellal made their way down the old corridor with an eerie silence left behind when they did not speak. It could make shivers run down a rookie's spine and both were glad that they had long since passed their paranoid stadiums.

"Explain the boulder then." Jellal said as they came to the end of the place where an open door was found and the sun shone inside of the dark structure, it revealed a large open room with many images on the walls. Across from the entrance of the room was the exit.

"Okay so there was a trap, but you know the ancient Mayan priests were very protective of their secrets." Ultear said as she began to walk faster trying to reach the end of the room as fast as possible, it gave her an eerie sense of evil. Jellal was right behind her and their shoes tapped on the ground as they took to jogging.

"Yes I do." Jellal chuckled as they exited the tunnel and were met with sunshine and a forest down below as they were on top of a Mayan temple.

"Good because I found the map to The Shrine of Deliora." Ultear said taking out the paper from inside her pocket as Jellal blew out the torches and tossed them inside of the temple.

"You have?" Jellal asked with his eyes twinkling, the legendary shrine was said to be key, a key to the very power of the gods, as Ultear took out the paper and held it up in victory.

"Yes I did." Ultear smirked as Jellal took it out of her hands and studied it. His eyes went over every detail as Ultear only smirked at him her head held up high. Jellal looked at the map and every passing second his mouth started to get bigger and bigger as he began to smile.

"Wow... the shrine in the heart of the world. A key to the power of the gods. " Jellal breathed as he handed the paper back to Ultear who only nodded her head in approval and put the paper back in her pocket smiling widely at him.

"Yep... By the way. The way you say that, it sounds as if you have some ulterior reasons for going after it." Ultear smirked as they walked off the stairs. "Anyway, all we need to do now is find someone who could place our map on a modern map."

"I think Meredy might know someone." Jellal said scratching the back of his head as a small wind started blowing ruffling the leaves of the trees. Ultear only smiled widely as she made her way down the stairs, sparkles seeming to encircle her.

She would finally be able to achieve her late mother Ul's goal... the power of the gods. The power to bring her mother back from the afterlife.

Suddenly the heard a rumbling sound and felt the ground tremble. They turned around and saw the temple they had just exited start crumbling. They quickly ran forward as the temple fell in on itself.

"Well," Jellal commented, dusting off his clothes and putting his explorer hat on, "I doubt the university that sponsored us is going to be happy with that."

"I don't think the Peruvian government is going to be too happy either," Ultear said, "let's go find Meredy before El Presidente del Peru sends some nasty guys with guns after us."

**END**

**A/N (Gr): Sorry guys it's a prologue it's supposed to be short. Either way if you guys want to follow or favourite me don't forget to do the same for the captain. u/5707024/Captain-Baka-sama (LINK). I hope you liked the prologue and don't forget to leave us a nice little review and to follow and favourite. Stay tuned for the next chapter. OuO**

**A/N (CBS): Hoi hoi? Don't ferget about me, ya scurvy landlubbers. I added some history, mystery and humour fer ya, send a bottl'ah rum if yer happy with our prologue. Oh, ye can follow, favourite and review too, if ye wanna.**

**Regards**

**Groove and Captain Baka – sama **


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: What is this? Is this an update; already? How can that be when Gruvia rocks is a bad updater? Easy this story is collaboration with Captain Baka – sama. Oh and GRUVIA ROCKS apologizes for not releasing and or updating her other stories... This one is too fun! So sorry, but they will be... When she is done with her writer's blocked ass and starts moving it... **

**ANSWERS TO FANTASTIC FLABBERGASTING REVIEWS:**

**None (SOBS!) WHY YOU NO REVIEW?**

**We love you guys! Enjoy this chapter and do not forget to review, follow and favorite! :D **

**Disclaimer: You see dear audience the Captain (hoi hoi) and Groove would probably not be able to do a manga because of long noses, fat chins (you calling me fat?), chubby hands (Yes you are.) etc. Thus all rights go to a great writer and artist... *drum roll* HIRO MASHIMA!**

**Chapter 1**

**22 June 1932**

_**Unknown Location – Peru**_

The forest was hell to get through and the raven haired man was an idiot for even trying. The worst part of it had to be that his clothes were getting caught up in the vines and he had a stripping habit so getting them back took a while... Then he had to cut through shrubs... Again and again and again...

He grunted as he once again got caught up in a vine, the tree it was attached to seeming to taunt him as he glared at it. This was not what he wanted when he and the other professors at Oxford decided to research the Shrine of Deliora. He hated this, he hated all of it. He was a professor of archeology not a damned tree decoration.

Freeing himself once again the man cut through the shrubs in front of him and showing him a clearing... there were lots of large stones there, but no supposed ancient Mayan Temple. The man known as Gray Fullbuster growled as he picked up his cowboy hat and put it on his head marching to the clearing with a scowl decorating his features. When Gray got to the clearing he saw an old pink haired woman walking about giant pieces of stone lying about her.

"What the...?" Gray said as he looked at the pieces of stone lying around the woman, there were Mayan markings all over them. She only looked up at him and shook her head.

"It was those damn humans." she said shaking her head as she picked up a coin which lying between the rubble, "Always destroying everything, worse than dogs."

"But we're..." Gray started when the woman only shook her head to the side and glared at him. She was obviously upset and Gray quickly shut up as she threw the coin towards him.

"We might be humans but I'm not as damn irritating as you and all the other humans." the woman said glaring at Gray as she picked up a broom. "It was two people from Harvard in America. Just look at the coin they lost."

"Wha...?" Gray started as he looked at the coin. The coin was decorated with Harvard's sign and message as well as a small smudge. Gray only shook his head as he frowned, why those damned Harvard people had to appear before he did was a mystery to him. Why would they be after the same thing as he and all the other professors at Oxford were?

"Harvard..." Gray said flipping the coin and making it shine in the sun as it fell down landing in his hand.

**XXXXX**

_**Cairo - Egypt**_

The Arabian Desert heat baked the sand. If you were there you would probably bake. The citizens of a small desert camp heard a low drone coming from just beyond the dune. There was something falling out of the air when they saw some horsemen approach.

With the golden artifact shinning in the sun as it fell on the dune with the sun reflecting of it caught many people's attention; the hooded horseman rode closer and snatched the object. Close by an airplane was flying closer to the earth with a pink haired man with a long brown coat, white shirt, red shawl tied around his stomach and a sword's handle sticking out of his hilt leaned out of the door of the airplane his other hand clearly holding on to something.

"Damn it..." the man swore as the scarlet haired woman inside of the airplane held on to his hand. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail as she wore brown ankle boots, short denim shorts and a tight brown shirt. She also had many things wrapped around her legs holding different weapons ranging from guns, knives to even a whip.

"What's wrong Natsu?" the woman asked holding onto his hand as she gripped a pillar and leaned herself so that he could lean a little more to the outside.

"They have the statue." Natsu said looking back at the woman. "How're we going to get it back now Erza?"

"Easy..." a soft voice said and they turned to the cockpit where a shoulder length blue haired girl sat. She had blue eyes, wore a salmon pink Alice band, a white silk neck tie, a pink and white dress with fur decorating it. The pink on her dress was clearly some kind of metal armor decorating her dress. "Juvia will get Gajeel-kun to fly closer and Natsu-san will snatch it away."

"Wha...?" the man next to her said turning his head a little to the side. "We're going to do that again? Fun..." the man smirked lowering the plane as Natsu and Erza smirked with him while Juvia only nodded in approval. The man had mid back long black spiky hair, a yellow bandana on his forehead, piercings covering his face and arms, a metal shackle over his stomach and white pants.

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled at the airplane lowered to where the hooded people were riding who only looked at the airplane their eyes wide. Were these people crazy? It was enough that they were stealing one of the artifacts that belonged in their monuments.

"Good luck Natsu..." Erza said tying a rope to his ankle and pushing him out of the plane. She grabbed a hold of the other side of the rope and tied it to the pole, still holding on to it for dear life.

Natsu quickly swung himself to the man holding the artifact and tried grabbing it from him. The man on the other hand took out a sword and swung it dangerously close to Natsu. "Be gone infidel, this artifact is our countries, YOU cannot have it."

Natsu only smirked as he took his own sword out of his belt and engaged the man in battle. Soon Natsu swung at the man's wrist making the man drop his sword and giving Natsu the moment to snatch the statue and put away his sword.

"Damned infidel, we shall have your head for this!" the man yelled.

"Come and get it!" Natsu said, smirking and winking at him, pulling the rope and sending the signal to Erza who immediately pulled him up.

"Very well!" the man yelled and pulled out another sword. He swung wildly trying to cleave Natsu's head off, but Natsu was too far away and the airplane was out of range as well. The man was feeling terrible because he had just lost a piece of his cultural heritage to a man hanging upside down from an airplane, and the other police officers would most likely laugh at him. He groaned as he reared the horse making all the other riders stop behind him.

Erza pulled Natsu up and closed the door behind him as Natsu only untied the rope from his ankle and leaned against the frame, his breathing heavy as he smirked dropping the golden statue on the floor of the plane. He was tired, but how could he not be? He had just hung upside down out of an airplane by a rope, swung around to make him go to certain places, fought with a guy and snatched an artifact away. All in a simple day's work honestly.

"Yah get the statue?" Gajeel asked throwing a glance to Natsu who only smiled and waved at him. Gajeel quickly shot his attention back to the sky.

"Yep" Natsu smirked taking the statue and polishing a smudge of it. "And I can tell yah I don't like Arabia that much."

"Good, because next we're heading to South America" Juvia said looking at Natsu with a map in her hand. "The location of the map to the Shrine of Deliora has been found and we're trying to get it first."

"Yes" Erza agreed taking the statue from Natsu and placing it in a box with lots of wool in it. "But if we don't get it we'll go to where we think the shrine might be."

"Aye..." Juvia agreed looking at the map again and turning to Gajeel. "Just head in a south west direction and we should be in Peru in about 5 hours according to Juvia's calculations."

"Okay..." Gajeel smirked banking the plane as they went off into the horizon, the desert sun shining high in the sky.

**XXXXX**

**25 June 1932**

_**New York City- America**_

Jellal walked into the office he knew to be Meredy's working station with Ultear close behind him. They headed to where they knew the feisty teenager would be when she wasn't at school. Opening the door they were greeted with heaps and heaps of newspapers and a pink haired girl in the middle paging through the newspapers and making marks in maps.

"Meredy we're back." Ultear said catching the pink heads attention and making her whip her head back to look at the two. Meredy smiled and quickly got up making lots of newspapers as well as thick books and maps tumble down to the floor with a loud smash.

"Shit..." Meredy swore under her breath as she quickly gathered as many documents as she possible could and heaped them into a pile which she placed in the corner of the room. Ultear and Jellal only sighed shaking their heads as they watched her move around frantically.

"What're you up to?" Jellal asked putting his hat down and helping Meredy gather up the documents which she had scattered around. He had never seen so many articles in his life and he couldn't believe that one teenager would gather so much within the time period of two days.

"I've been trying to make assumptions as to where the shrine could be." Meredy admitted as Jellal and Ultear looked at her with their eyebrows raised. "I probably would've done better with you guys' help and the map... Which brings me to ask you... do you guys have it?"

"Yes." Ultear answered taking out the map and handing it to Meredy who smiled brightly when she saw it. This was what they had been searching for, and now she held it in her hands. But looking at the paper she noticed ancient Mayan script in the corner... What could that be saying?

Quickly grabbing her book explaining the languages of the past she opened it to the page marked Mayans with Jellal and Ultear watching her every move. Meredy effortlessly opened the map and took another paper and started scribbling away every now and then looking at the map.

"What's wrong?" Jellal asked walking to her and laying his hand on her shoulder and looking at what she was up to.

"Mm..." Meredy said writing the last bit and turning to Jellal and Ultear with her paper in her hand. "Well it looks like we have an issue."

"What?" Ultear asked her eyes wide as Jellal walked up to her and stood next to her looking at Meredy expectantly.

"Well..." Meredy started looking at them with her long pink hair hanging over her shoulder. "It seems like the shrine can easily be found with this map but the magic won't happen since you need the key to unlock it."

"The key...?" Jellal asked with a raised eyebrow, what was Meredy going on about now. Was it not enough to have the map in their hands? What possible key could there be.

"Well according to the rhyme on the map..." Meredy said looking at her paper. "There is a key to activate the shrine."

Ultear grabbed the paper out of Meredy's hand and read it aloud:

"The hand of Zeref was lifted

To create a demon and the world shifted

The demon was to be sealed

In a temple of the reeled

The demon was locked

Not to be mocked

For a stone will there be

For moon of he"

"What the hell does that mean?" Jellal asked as Ultear nodded her head in agreement; the rhyme didn't make sense to her either.

"Ughh..." Meredy sighed taking the paper back and looking at it. "Basically the demon was made by a man or demon or whatever named Zeref and the demon Deliora shifted the balance of the world. To stop the demon the priests sealed it way in a temple of those who were spun... Thus the demon was locked away where he could not be mocked and the only thing that can set him free is some kind of a stone which has to do with the moon."

"So we have to find some kind of a stone to activate the shrine." Jellal said after which Meredy nodded enthusiastically.

"Indeed..." Meredy said taking up the map. "But now I have to find where this map leads and what all these x-s mean."

"Good luck..." Ultear said frowning and jumping into a chair. "I'm already upset that I need some stone."

Jellal slumped into his own chair looking out the window at the bustling streets of New York. Boy did he hate this.

**XXXXX**

**25 June 1932**

_**Oxford-United Kingdom**_

Professor Lucy Heartfilia felt really excited; educating the young was part of her passion for archeology & history. "…But the legendary shrine has never been found, I can tell you though lots of people are searching for it."

The bell rang and she dismissed the class. She watched as the students filled out of the class taking all their belongings and falling in line with their friends and discussing who knew what as they headed to their next class. As soon as they were out she picked up some of the papers and books on her desk and walked to the door of her class which she shut as she headed down the hallway. She now had a period off and she immediately went to the library where she knew her friend, the campus' librarian would be. She entered and saw the Librarian Levy examining a large book titled The Mysterious Dark One with her hair tied up and red glasses placed on her nose.

"Anything interesting in the book?" Lucy asked cheerfully as she neared Levy. Levy gasped and quickly looked up from the book lifting the glasses and using them as a head band.

"Don't scare me like that Lu-chan" she said smiling and closing the book, "but no, just some unconvincing theories on Dark Lords of the past. I still think there was never such a thing." The one thing about Levy was that she really didn't believe in magic and all the dark lords; she believed in scientific evidence. Especially with all the breakthroughs they had been making these days; it was like the past was becoming an open book with all their silly beliefs.

"You'd be surprised Levy-chan" Lucy said shaking her head and giving Levy a small smile, "They say the Dark Lord Zeref created the Shrine of Deliora you know." Lucy of course used her 'matter-of-factly' tone as she said that taking a seat on the opposite side of the table Levy was seated on. Lucy unlike Levy believed that there were many things people didn't know about and the chance for magic and such to have existed was huge. As a matter of fact she had never believed in anything as strong as she believed in that the past had mystic dark secrets.

"The thing that Gray went to search for?" Levy asked with a raised eyebrow as she looked at her big breasted best friend who put her books and papers on the table and turned to Levy her head resting in the palm of her hand.

"Yes Levy-chan," Lucy laughed at her short best friend who now looked at Lucy with understanding bright eyes. Perhaps she too was excited about what Gray would discover, "That reminds me, any news from Peru?" Lucy asked furrowing her brows in concern; she was honestly worried about her fellow archeology/history professor. He was usually very fast with telling the girls what he had discovered for their great university but now it seemed like he was taking longer than usual.

"A telegram from yesterday, saying the temple was destroyed by those American Idiots from Harvard." Levy said with a smile on her face as she thought about how the competition between the universities was continuing as well as ever, "And that he should be back by tomorrow." Levy added as an afterthought as Lucy nodded her head in understanding before she opened the book Levy was reading earlier. Honestly she had read it before but she couldn't deny that she enjoyed the book and found it interesting.

Levy only sighed and walked off to get some coffee knowing that Lucy would probably like a cup and honestly Levy had a caffeine craze. Especially after she was tired of reading the entire morning and now she would get herself and her best friend a cup. As she walked she couldn't help but let her mind wander to that what she had read. Could any of those things discussed even be possible? She honestly doubted it, but something in her wanted to believe… But logic defeated it as always.

**END**

**A/N: (Gr) Oh second chapter and I'm proud of it. It's so fun writing with the captain; he's really a nice guy to work with. Thank you to all of you who followed or opened this story I hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review, follow and favorite. We were really sad when there were no reviews and only 3 follows. Thank you for reading!**

**A/N: (CBS) Hoi Hoi! I think this Chapter is ninja compared to the prologue. More Action, more Characters and of course more humor. Humor good. Now would y'all please review this time, I wanna know what you think of our story. Bunch o' rapscallions. P.S. what's a rapscallion anyway?**

**Please review, favorite & follow. Like Ninja.**

**Greetings**

**Groove And Captain Baka-sama.**


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